Hope you had a happy Vaffanculo-day
-The opposite of a compelling argument-
A right wing coalition of nutbags, calling themselves "The Forgotten American Coalition," has issued a declaration. Signed by such towering intellects as Gary Bauer, Don Wildmon, Pat Robertson, Paul Weyrich, John Hagee, Lou Sheldon, Tim and Beverly LaHaye, and Rick Scarborough, the declaration demands that we stay in Iraq until the sun burns out. See if you can follow this reasoning:
9/11 was in part precipitated by the perception of American weakness and lack of determination. An Iraq withdrawal before our mission is accomplished will convince the terrorists and their state-sponsors that we indeed are the proverbial paper tiger.
That's right, we have to stay in Iraq to impress terrorists. Never mind that there's no good reason to be there in the first place. If you're wondering why this doesn't make a damned bit of sense, I remind you that it's signed by Gary Bauer, Don Wildmon, Pat Robertson, Paul Weyrich, John Hagee, Lou Sheldon, Tim and Beverly LaHaye, and Rick Scarborough. What do you expect from nuts? (Right Wing Watch)
-Who's lying now?-
Disgraced LA Sen. David Vitter was a little more disgraced today as a hooker who claims to have had sex with him passed a polygraph test. Wendy Yow Ellis -- I swear that's her name -- took the lie detector test, paid for by porno publisher Larry Flynt, and passed with flying colors.
According to the report, "Ellis, whose maiden name is Wendy Yow, said Monday that she took the polygraph test because Vitter tried to impugn her credibility at a news conference in July, when he denied news reports about his involvement with prostitutes in New Orleans without being specific." Being a whore is one thing, but being a lying whore is another. Glad to see her clear her name.
Vitter's office had no comment, but I'll offer one for him for free -- "Sen. Vitter got screwed twice here and, this time, it was free." (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
-Something we can all get behind-
Italian comedian Beppe Grillo has captured the attention of hundreds of thousands of italian voters with a very special day and a very special message for italian politicians. The "Vaffanculo-day" protests to "tell off politicians has won the support of more than 300,000 Italians who signed petitions to sweep away a generation of lawmakers they say are corrupt and ineffective" and has proven that there's a huge groundswell of support for reform in that country.
Among the demands are a ban on convicted felons from parliament, direct election of parliament members, and term-limits. The fun is in the translation. "Vaffanculo-day" means "Fuck Off Day" in english. Do we ever need a national Fuck Off Day here. Unfortunately, Fuck Off Day was Saturday -- so you missed it. There's always next year. (Reuters)
